Thread: Jobseekers allowance question

Personally, I would say no you can't.
To qualify for JSA, you must be actively seeking work.
That is why it's called "JobSEEKER'S Allowance.

Originally Posted by steve51184

but i work from home but earn nothing from it can i not get some kind of help?

So you ARE working!
JSA is for people who are out of work and looking for employment, it is not intended to supplement a business that makes no money.

If you make no money as a web developer, then you must decide whether you want to find work that does pay, or carry on with your hobby.
You will not get JSA if you are not ACTIVELY looking for work.
Why should the state subsidise your hobby?

As I said, to qualify for JSA, You must be actively seeking work.

There is a saying. which is very true, "You don't get owt for nowt".
There's no such thing as a free meal. It has to be paid for, somewhere along the line.

I have no idea what they do in America. What the Americans do is of no consequence, here.
When in Rome.... etc.

Further education to gain the skills you need. Either that, or look for unskilled work.

Varies from area to area.
But if you don't look for it you'll never know!
It won't come looking for you.

In this economic climate you have to take what's available and what you're qualified for.
Or enrol for courses to get the qualifications.

Steve, I am unemployed and am doing anything and everything I can to get a job. That includes, each day without fail, checking the jobs pages of 40 local authorities, 8 search engines, 12 employment agencies ( though I don't know why I bother with them), 3 newspapers and a partridge in a pair tree (sorry), speculative letters and so on.

Like Rooster has continually stated, you need to actively seek work to claim benefit.

Depending on how old you are, you may be entitled to help with further education. Qualifications and experience are not needed for all jobs, but as a minimum you should have some GCSE including English and Maths.

There are agencies that can help. Connexions is one, and there will also be help at the job center.

If you are not sure what you want to do, you should write down a list of things that interest you and that you are good at. Match them up and you will have a good idea of what work you will do well in.

But one thing. It is you who must make the effort. No-one is going to do job searches for you. No-ne is expecting you to go for any job, but without qualifications or experience you are quite limited in what you can choose. Once you are in a job, it will be easier to get something else.

turn your computer off, get to the job center and get yourself signed on. Get some help and advice off them and start looking.

I like!

Steve - you say you run some websites. Presumably you have some skills in that area. That should be a starting point.

And to claim JSA, you have to prove that you are actively looking for work.

One of the biggest problems is getting references after long periods of unemployment. Consider volunteer work. You can do a certain amount a week without affecting JSA. But more importantly, you are "networking". You get talking to people and positions may open up to you even if they are not in a direction you are looking.

I left school went into the IT business. Got made redundant, got a job in light engineering. Got made redundant again, got an office job as a drawing office clerk. Left to run computer systems for a a hospital trust on the south coast. Left to work for Barclays Bank - got made redundant - again!!. Got a job as an office manager for a railway maintenance company. Got TUPE'd then moved to a job on the tracks swinging a hammer - how IT is that! Now back working for the NHS in Cornwall in IT.

Some of these jobs I was forced to take, but most of them were found by looking around and writing to the Director of IT for various companies.

Moral of this story - if you sit on your backside, you don't get anywhere. Opportunities are what you make of them.